Inntravel’s walking holidays are all about relaxed activity and rewarding discovery, leading you along the lesser-trodden path to offer you a truly individual holiday experience. We’ve been offering independent walking holidays since 1987, and our range is wide and varied, with something for everyone. Like all our holidays, our walks are for individuals, not groups, enabling you to explore entirely at your own pace, even on guided holidays. We offer four ‘styles’ of walking holiday:

Hotel-to-hotel walking: following detailed walking notes, walk self-guided from village to village with your luggage transported.

Centred walking: enjoy inspiring circular walks from one or more superbly located hotels using our detailed notes. You can take your pick of the routes depending on how energetic you are feeling on a particular day (or choose not to walk at all on some days). We sometimes include a hire car so you can access a wider range of walks, or travel by train, bus or boat from one scenic walking area to another.

Walks with own guide:whether village-to-village or centred walking, you walk accompanied by your party’s own personal guide.

Family walking: staying at family-friendly hotels, walk as a family, with plenty of interest for all ages along the routes.

Whichever you choose, you will be rewarded with magnificent landscapes, inspirational views and a rich variety of wildlife, gaining a good feel for the region. You stay in the family-run accommodation of character for which Inntravel is renowned, with a dinner of delicious regional cooking usually included unless there is a good choice of restaurants nearby. Picnics are often provided on days when you are walking between hotels.

Explore inviting trails

We try to ensure that no two days are the same on our holidays so that your time away is varied and interesting, but typically the morning starts with a leisurely breakfast, a chance to read over the directions and familiarise yourself with the route on the map. When you’re ready, you set off from the hotel along an inviting path. There is no rush, so you can progress very much at your own pace, pausing whenever you want to admire the views, to look at the flowers or the birds, or to visit a wayside chapel. Linger over your picnic at a panoramic spot, perhaps indulging in a short siesta in the shade of a tree, then continue on your way, your charming hotel soon visible as another rewarding walk draws to an end. We plan our hotel-to-hotel routes so that you typically arrive at your next hotel some time in the mid to late afternoon, with time to freshen up and explore the village before a dinner of delicious regional cuisine.

To get a better idea of the nature of our holidays, read one or two of the travel diaries written by members of staff who have walked our routes.

Your luggage transported

We want you to be able to walk in complete comfort, so we arrange the transportation of your luggage from one hotel to the next on hotel-to-hotel walks. The only thing we ask is that you leave your suitcases in reception on setting out each morning, and the hoteliers will ensure that it is waiting for you at your next hotel. All you need carry with you is your picnic, drinks, a camera, waterproofs and sun cream.

Detailed walking notes and maps

Accurate, reliable route information is a crucial element of independent walking holidays; we take great pride in our walking notes, and check and update them regularly. In many regions, our routes take you along the local network of waymarked trails, making navigation particularly easy. Where there are no waymarks, rest assured that we provide especially detailed notes. The maps that we provide along with our walking notes are usually 1:25,000 or, in some cases, 1:50,000.

Our notes provide so much information in addition to the basic directions that you don’t need a guide – they are your guide. Just as a guide would tell you about the places you pass, our notes include information on any monuments, historic villages or other places of interest along the way, and if it’s worth making a short detour to a fantastic viewpoint, we point this out too. We even make suggestions for good picnic spots.

Walks with your own guide

The small number of holidays for which we supply you with your own local guide follow a very similar formula to our other walking holidays – your luggage is transported where necessary, and because you are not part of a larger group, you again set the pace. The local people we work with offer a discreet form of guiding, letting you appreciate the landscapes for yourselves as they lead the way, but they are always on hand to answer any questions and to ensure your safety and enjoyment.

Nothing overlooked

All this means that you can set out each morning knowing that we have taken care of every aspect of your day. Things rarely go wrong, but for added peace of mind we provide a 24-hour emergency line.

The right walk for you

There are many factors to bear in mind when choosing a walking holiday: the ‘style’ of walking, the type of scenery, the style and standard of accommodation, the climate etc. But first of all you must decide on the grade of walking that is best suited to you.

As well as grading our holidays, we also provide altitude charts to help you in your decision. These charts give an approximation of the ascents and descents involved, as well as the distance of each walk, which is given at the bottom of the chart (where there is a choice of route, we tend to give the distance for our recommended option). It is important to note the scale of the chart as this varies according to the grade of the walk. Optional walks are colour coded. On the walking maps, dotted lines show the walking route, while solid lines represent a transfer by taxi, cable car, boat or train.

If you are unsure of your level, or would like more information on our different ‘styles’ of walking, please do not hesitate to contact our knowledgeable reservations team.

Tailored arrangements

Because we want you to experience your perfect holiday, we will be happy to help you tailor the arrangements for your chosen holiday to suit you. You can choose the start date, your travel method and route, the length of your holiday, and whether or not to make any upgrades.

Practical information to help you plan your holiday

You will need suitable footwear for your holiday, which may be walking boots or shoes depending on the terrain and your personal preference. Some people also like to use walking poles and if you have these, we recommend you take them with you. Other essentials include a compass, and a water bottle or other suitable container, and it is always wise to take waterproofs with you too. You might also wish to take your GPS unit with you, but this is not essential. We will provide you with more detailed information about what you need to take when you book.

Assuming that you are blessed with clement weather, you should typically be able walk in a T-shirt and shorts on most holidays that operate between April and October, although we strongly recommend that you take warmer clothes with you just in case. You may prefer to walk in a light-weight pair of long trousers and long-sleeved shirt for added protection from the sun. If you are travelling in late autumn, winter or early spring, the clothing you will need will depend on the region you are visiting. A T-shirt and shorts should again be sufficient for many holidays, particularly the coastal regions of Cyprus, Madeira and the Canary Islands (where the average temperature in December is about 21°C). However, you will find that Italy and higher regions such as the Andalucian and Moroccan mountains are comparatively cooler.